VICTIMS OF VAN ATTACK FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE
An 80-year-old grandmother who loved cheering on her favourite Toronto sports teams. An upand-coming chef. A spirited investment firm employee who had been a volunteer at big tennis tournaments since she was 12. A Jordanian national visiting his son.
As police tried Tuesday to understand why Alek Minassian allegedly used a rental van to mow down pedestrians along a busy Toronto street, a partial portrait emerged of the 24 dead and injured victims.
The victims — ranging in age from their 20s to their 80s, police said — came from all walks of life.
Anne Marie D’Amico was the first of the 10 killed to be publicly named. An employee of U.S.-based investment management firm Invesco Canada, D’Amico was a “star” to those who knew her — a kind, gentle and tireless volunteer with Toronto’s tennis community.
In a statement to CBC News, the D’Amico family said Anne Marie had “a generous heart.”
“She wouldn’t stop until she went the extra mile for others ... She genuinely wanted to care for all those around her even if it meant sacrificing a portion of herself in return for others’ happiness.”
At a special council meeting Tuesday, an emotional Toronto city councillor Cesar Palacio, who knows the D’Amico family, said Anne Marie’s father, Rocco, told him “he’s living the worst nightmare ever of his life.”
D’Amico, who had studied at Ryerson, had been a longtime volunteer with the Rogers Cup tennis tournament, and was voted volunteer of the year in 2016.
“We are honoured to let the world know what an amazing person she was,” Gavin Ziv, vice president of professional events at Tennis Canada, said in a statement.
D’Amico also volunteered with the youth charity Live Different on two humanitarian field trips to the Dominican Republic, first in 2015 and again in 2017. The charity partners with communities to build houses and schools. She embodied the definition of altruism, her family said.
“It comforts us knowing that the world has a chance to know her and we hope that in this time, people fight with the same altruism rather than anger and hatred.”
On Tuesday evening, Dorothy Sewell, 80, was also identified as among the dead by her family.
She was the “best grandmother anyone could have asked for,” said her grandson, Elwood Delaney. “Almost had as much love for the Blue Jays and Leafs as she did for her family.”
In a Facebook tribute, Delaney wrote: “You will always be loved and your love for sports will always be with me while I cheer with you.”
Co-workers identified Chul Min (Eddie) Kang, a chef with Copacabana Brazilian Steakhouses, as among the dead. In a statement, his employer said Kang’s death brings the company “great sadness.”
The identities of the other fatalities remained unknown, but an official with the South Korean consulate in Toronto confirmed that two South Korean nationals were among the dead and that one other was injured.
Jungho Jung, a translator, said consular staff were still trying to reach family members of the victims. He said consular staff visited the injured victim in hospital and were trying to get more information from police.
Meanwhile, officials at the Embassy of Jordan in Ottawa confirmed that one of its citizens was killed but had no other information to provide. The victim was identified by Jordan’s staterun Petra news agency as Munair Najjar, who was in Toronto visiting family.
Seneca College, where the suspect had attended for several years, announced that one of its students was killed in Monday’s rampage.
“She was, along with nine others, an innocent victim of this tragic act of violence,” David Agnew, the school’s president, said in a note to students and employees. “On behalf of all of us, I want to extend our deepest sympathies to her family and friends.”
At a press conference Tuesday, Ontario Chief Coroner Dirk Huyer said his office had “not confirmed any identifications at this point.”
Huyer said he sympathized with family and friends who were anxious to know the identities of those who had died, but said the office wants to ensure that things are done accurately. “That takes time,” he said. Huyer confirmed that tentative death notifications have been made to family members but his office wants to conduct dental, fingerprint or DNA comparisons before confirming the victims’ identities.
This approach is necessary given the complexity of the case and the severity of injuries, he said.
Sunnybrook Hospital, which did not release D’Amico’s name, said it would not be releasing the name of a second person that arrived at the facility without vital signs and was declared dead. Of the eight others taken to Sunnybrook, five remained in critical condition and three were listed as serious.
Court documents named 13 survivors as attempted murder victims. They are Robert Anderson, Sammantha Samson, Samantha Peart, Morgan McDougall, Mavis Justino, Catherine Riddell, Aleksandra Kozhevinikova, Amir Kiumarsi, Yunsheng Tian, Jun Seok Park, Amaresh Tesfamariam, So Ra and Beverly Smith. A 14th attempted murder charge was expected, police said.
Among the most seriously injured was Tesfamariam. She was in critical condition with spinal damage, according to a GoFundMe page created by Menab Tesfu, her nephew, and a Facebook post by Liah Tesfamariam, who identified herself as her niece.
Tesfu said Amaresh lived alone and would not be able to work for an extended period due to her injuries.
Kiumarsi was in the intensive care unit at Sunnybrook, according to an email from CUPE 3904 president Joseph Zbloralski to colleagues.
Kiumarsi has been a chemistry lecturer at Ryerson University since 2012. He had taught chemistry in Tehran for 10 years previously.
Justino, a property manager, was recovering at home Tuesday. She suffered multiple broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder and has stitches in her arm and her head.
She was struck by the van right before it leapt the curb and began its murderous trip along the sidewalk.
“I have a long healing process, but I made it out alive, feeling very thankful to be here today,” she posted on her Facebook page.
Samson was a co-worker of D’Amico’s at Invesco. They also roomed together on a Live Different trip to the Dominican Republic in November 2015. Her condition was not known.
McDougall was released from hospital Monday. He spent Tuesday on the phone reassuring relatives. He had been cut and had hurt his hand but was healing.
IT COMFORTS US KNOWING THAT THE WORLD HAS A CHANCE TO KNOW HER AND WE HOPE THAT IN THIS TIME, PEOPLE FIGHT WITH
THE SAME ALTRUISM RATHER THAN ANGER AND HATRED.
— FROM A STATEMENT BY THE FAMILY OF ANNE MARIE D’AMICO